Menu

Tag Archives: The Rugby Player

Post navigation

Flight 93 took from Newark, NJ to San Francisco, CA on September 11, 2001. The flight never reached its destination. This was one of the 4 planes attacked by hijackers. Flight 93 was believed to be heading towards Capitol Hill in Washington DC, and some passengers onboard the plane foiled that attempt.The flight ended up crashing in a field in Stonycreek Township in Pennsylvania.

Mark Bingham, a San Francisco bay area native was one of the passengers that fought with hijackers as his mother Alice Hoaglandpoints out. Hoagland describes how she along with other surviving family members of flight 93 listened to the tapes and heard the fight her son and others put up.

Hoagland, a bay area native, was a flight attendant with over 20 years experience and had worked for United Airlines. Bingham was flying on a family pass from Newark to San Francisco and almost missed the flight. When the plane was under attack, Bingham called his mother to let her know they were under attack and that he loved her. That was the last time Hoagland heard from her son.

Since the loss of her son Hoagland has been busy working on things that matter to her: Mark Bingham Foundation, LGBT community and airline safety. She is also involved in promoting gay soccer games around the world.

A new documentary film “The Rugby Player,” reconstructs Bingham’s life through old photos, video clips and interviews with his mother and friends. Bingham was a gay man, who also helped found San Francisco’s first gay soccer club. He grew up in Los Gatos, and played soccer at his high school and was part of the soccer team at University of California Berkeley.

In May 2014 a new 9/11 museum opened in New York city and there are recordings and pictures of Bingham along with others who lost their life on that tragic September morning in 2001.

This interview was originally recorded for TV and aired in SF bay area.